Preparing for Martinmas

LESSON 2

Children connect the concept of kindness as a form of light and create lanterns for a lantern walk.

  • Materials for lantern of choice. 

  • Here is a link for ideas.

Materials for lantern we created:

  • Wax paper

  • Tissue paper

  • Wooden skewers

  • Scissors

  • Glue stick

  • Hot glue

  • Electric tea light

Materials

  • Gather materials

Preparations

  • Encourage and guide children in reflecting on their previous service activity.

  • Use clear and relatable language to convey the concept of representing love and kindness as a form of light.

  • Create an engaging atmosphere for children to actively listen to and appreciate the song "This Little Light of Mine," fostering an understanding of its message and its connection to kindness and love.

  • Lead discussions connecting the concept of letting one's light shine to St. Martin's story.

  • Provide support and guidance as children create lanterns and practice the accompanying songs.

Objectives for Teachers

  • Children express their feelings and thoughts about the service activity conducted in the previous lesson, fostering their awareness of the impact of their actions on others.

  • Children connect the concept of representing love and kindness as a form of light.

  • Children listen to the song "This Little Light of Mine" and discuss its meaning, aiming to grasp the song's message and the concept of kindness and love.

  • Children practice creativity and fine motor skills while creating lanterns in preparation for a lantern walk.

Objectives for Children

Collect and Connect

For this unit we will be learning and practicing two songs:

  • "I Go with My Little Lantern" - Many versions are available, but this is the one we enjoy. You can find it by skipping to the 3:34 time stamp in the video.

    "Magic Light" - This song is sung to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." These songs will add to the joy of your lantern walk this month.

I Go With My Little Lantern

I go with my bright little lantern,

My lantern is going with me.

In heaven the stars will be shining,

On earth shines my lantern with me.

The lights grow dim as we go in,

La bimmel, la bammel, la boom (x2)

I go with my bright little lantern,

My lantern is going with me.

In heaven the stars will be shining,

On earth shines my lantern with me.

So, shine your light in the still dark night,

La bimmel, la bammel, la boom. (x2)

Magic Light

We go walking in the park,

Welcoming the Autumn dark.

Even though the stars we see,

Shine above for you and me.

All together with our light,

We’ll make magic of the night.

Activity Flow

  1. To start this activity, begin by reflecting on the service activity from the previous lesson. Ask your child how it made them feel. Then, explore the idea of representing love and kindness as a form of light. People often use phrases like "Share your light," "Give your light," or "Let your light shine" to encourage acts of kindness and love. In essence, it means sharing your kindness and love with others. Tell your child that today, we're going to listen to a song, and you’d like them to think about its meaning. Play the song "This Little Light of Mine" and enjoy it together. You can even join in and sing along as you listen.

  2. After listening to the song, discuss its meaning. Connect the concept of letting your light shine to St. Martin, the story "A Sick Day for Amos Mcgee," and the service activity from the previous lesson. Then, introduce today's activity. Tell your child that many people create lanterns, fill them with light, and participate in a lantern walk on Martinmas as a way to show their dedication to being kind and loving to those around them, especially as the holiday season approaches and the colder months draw near. So today, we're going to create lanterns in preparation for our own lantern walk and learn a few songs we can sing as we walk. This will help your child connect the lantern's light and the songs to the idea of showing kindness and giving love to others.

  3. Practice the songs and create a lantern together.

Here is how we made our lanterns:

1. Start by cutting a large piece of wax paper (20 inches should be enough). The width will be a little taller than a skewer and the length should be two skewers plus a little extra for flexibility. You can always trim any excess later.

2. Take your tissue paper and cut out designs you want to stick onto the wax paper.

3. Use glue to attach the designs onto the wax paper.

4. After you’ve finished gluing the design, it's time to attach the skewers. You'll need four full-length skewers and eight half-length skewers. Flip the wax paper with the glued design facing down.

5. Begin at one end of the wax paper and use glue (a hot glue gun works great) to attach one full-length skewer along the short end. The extra waxpaper below the end of the skewer can be cut off at the end or folded over to create the bottom of your lantern.

6. Next, glue a half-length skewer along the bottom and one along the top, perpendicular to the full-length skewer. 

7. Repeat the process, leaving about a 1/4 inch of space between the short sticks and the next full-length skewer, until you've glued all four full length skewers and the eight half-length skewers down. 

8. Next, place a dot of glue in the 1/4th inch space of each corner and fold over each side to build the lantern.

9. Repeat for each side and then run a bead of glue along the last long skewer and join the ends together to complete the box shape.

10. To complete the lantern you can fold over the excess wax paper and glue it down to form the bottom or cut it off and cut out a piece to make the bottom of your lantern.

11. If you want to hang your lantern, tie or attach string to the top and hang it from a stick for child to carry or you can just carry it by the bottom.

12. Place a tea lamp (we used a battery powered one) in the bottom.

13. Enjoy your lantern walk with your own lantern!